Guest Lecturer/Speaker

Revenue New Requirements for paying Guest Lecturer / Speaker

Revenue have issued new requirements on their website in relation to paying guest lecturer / speaker. With effect from 1 September 2019, lecture fees in respect of part-time or “once off” lecturers should now be taxed through the PAYE system i.e. paid net of statutory deductions for income tax, USC and PRSI.

Payment Process for Guest Lecturers / Speakers

How to know if you are resident for tax purposes

Please review information about Tax residence on the Revenue website here

Taxation of Payment to Guest Lecturer and Teaching Support Staff in the University of Galway

The standard process for paying people not employed here who do one-off or occasional work at the University, such as keynote speakers at conferences – are we OK to use the Guest Lecturer/Subject Specialist Form on those occasions? We imagine this is a fairly common occurrence.

Please follow this process:

1.First step you need to determine if they are to be paid as an Employee or Self Employed.

2.For future hires who are not staff members of the University please see this link for assistance and in particular follow the one-page checklist to determine if they are an employee or self-employed. This Employee vs self employed one page checklist is a very helpful tool for budget-holders in deciding if an engagement is more akin to a contract of service (employment) or for service (self-employed).

3.If you determine that they should be paid as self-employed then that is accounts payable / procurement process

4.If you determine that they should be paid as an employee then they must fit the description of Guest lecturer / Subject Specialist. Review step 2 questions on this form to ensure they can be paid on this form. Guest Lecturer / Speaker / Subject Specialist Form

This is an important requirement for the process: Was the talk on an existing academic programme or on an existing research programme?

5. If it is still unclear if the keynote speaker is an employee or self-employed for speaking at a conference then it is best to arrange a call with someone in finance.

Guest lecturers, who are invited to deliver lectures or talks on an exceptional basis, are subject to taxation through the PAYE system. Lecture fees paid to guest lecturers are taxed net of statutory deductions for income tax, USC (Universal Social Charge), and PRSI (Pay-Related Social Insurance).

Teaching Support Staff (Refer to University of Galway HR Policy: QA106 and QA107), including other categories of academics/teachers, are engaged to deliver lectures, workshops, etc., and are remunerated according to University-authorised hourly rates. Individuals in this category may lecture on one, two, or more occasions within a year.

It is important to note that the majority of relevant individuals fall into the latter category, while guest lecturers described above are the exception rather than the norm.

Please be aware that the University does not reimburse travel and subsistence costs for Guest Lecturers or Teaching Support Staff. The Revenue's perspective is that the normal place of work for such individuals, in their capacity as lecturers/teachers, is the location where they carry out their duties, namely the University in this case.

Expenses can be paid tax-free if the hired person meets Revenue's definition for a Subject Specialist and satisfy Revenue requirements. Receipts for expenses must be returned and retained by the hiring school/unit at the University of Galway (Traveling Expenses Policy Overview guidelines here.). The Subject Specialist must have no other duties in the University other than that of a Subject Specialist to allow section 195A to apply and the payment of Travel and Subsistence to be exempt from tax.